You are here

The Great Cranberry Crave

Although I always loved my mother’s Thanksgiving feast, there were certain elements I simply could not be thankful for. I adored Mom’s roasted turkey and out-of-this-world southern cornbread dressing, but the canned jellied cranberry sauce was simply not my favorite thing. Once I discovered fresh, frozen and dried cranberries, though, they became one of my seasonal favorite ingredients — not only for my Thanksgiving table. Come November, I crank up the cranberries in just about everything from quick breads, breakfast dishes and desserts to side dishes, winter salads and sauces.

Cranberries are one of a handful of fruits that are truly native to North America. They’re naturally tart and sour, which is why sugar or other sweeteners are often added to cranberry juice, dried cranberries and cranberry sauce. Either fresh or frozen cranberries are perfect for making cranberry sauce or for adding to quick breads, muffins and cakes. Dried cranberries are particularly delicious in breakfast items, desserts, sauces, snacks, side dishes and salads.

These tips and ideas are meant to satisfy some incredible cranberry cravings this holiday season:

If you enjoy making your own holiday gifts, consider these wonderful Sugared Cranberries. They are wonderful baked into pies or a holiday cheesecake.

If you love cranberry juice, Whole Foods Market has the real, straight deal - 100% pure cranberry juice with no added sugars, fruit juice concentrates, high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. It’s totally tart and very refreshing. Try it mixed with a splash of sparkling water and a squeeze of fresh orange or lime juice. If tart is not your thing, we offer a variety of naturally sweetened cranberry juice as well.

Do you clamor for cranberries at holiday time? Got a favorite recipe? Let me know.

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they relate to the specific topic discussed in the post on which they are made. Off-topic comments, personal attacks (hostile, derogatory or deliberately insulting comments toward a specific individual or group) and flaming (comments intended to induce an angry response) will not be posted. For more information, please see our Comment Posting Guidelines.

Your name *

E-mail *

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Homepage

Comment *

5 Comments

Comments

Marian Pennachio says ...

Cranberry sauce with walnuts recipe is missing. There is a duplicate Spiced Cranberry with Chardonnay behind it. I would love the correct recipe. Can you please correct this error. This is the best cranberry sauce I ever ate. Thanks.

11/14/2012 8:46:58 PM CST

sboe1 says ...

I look forward all year to the day after Thanksgiving for my turkey sandwich with turkey, mayo, rocket (arugula) and the BEST cranberry sauce (cranberry, pear and ginger chutney) I've ever had, on challah bread (a wonderful Jewish egg bread which also make incredible French Toast) It was in a little Whole Foods handout holiday book about 16 to 20 years ago. I've made and canned it ever year. I love to eat it all year. Sometimes with pork chops and my turkey sandwich makes a great appetizer "slider", everyone loves it.
A friend brought over 2 she tried and I made another but NONE touched my old one.
Please please post it if you still have it. All my friends and I are sad that's it missing from our Thanksgiving dinner and for other meals throughout the year.
I'm still hopeful that I'll find it but I've torn my house apart looking for it. Thanks for your help.

11/24/2012 2:02:12 AM CST

Linda says ...

I purchased turkey dinner at the Thousand Oaks, CA WF Market on Thanksgiving, and the cranberry sauce was terrific! I returned today and asked about the ingredients. The clerk was kind to print out the label for me. It says: cranberries, water, apple juice, beet sugar, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cloves. The ingredients do not match up with any of the cranberry recipes I could find on the WF website. Does anyone know the recipe?
Thanks!

11/25/2012 1:17:02 AM CST

SHARY B says ...

I thought you had a raw cranberry relish recipe last year but couldn'f find it this year. It had fresh cranberries, orange zest and juice, and chopped dates for sweetner. I made it in my food processor and loved it. This year, I cannot find the recipe. Could you send it to me? Thanks

11/25/2012 4:37:56 PM CST

Nikki - Community Moderator says ...

@SHARY - I was also unable to find a raw cranberry sauce recipe on our website. If it was a recipe you picked up in your local store, it's possible that the store might have a copy of it. I was able to find a similar recipe online at http://www.elanaspantry.com/raw-cranberry-sauce/. Let us know how it works out!

Search The Blog

Sign Up for Newsletters

About the Blog

Welcome to Whole Story, the official blog of Whole Foods Market.

As the world’s leading natural and organic grocer we’re all about healthy food and a healthy planet, and we've got bunches of passionate people in our community doing incredible things. Join in the conversation!